Formal succession updates rejected by Berkshire shareholders

Details of Berkshire Hathaway’s attempts to find and prepare a replacement for Warren Buffett are unlikely to be revealed any time soon, after shareholders voted against a proposal for formal annual updates on the company’s succession plans.

Details of Berkshire Hathaway’s attempts to find and prepare a replacement for Warren Buffett are unlikely to be revealed any time soon, after shareholders voted against a proposal for formal annual updates on the company’s succession plans.

The resolution, tabled by labour union AFL-CIO, was rejected with 672,000 votes against and 32,000 for.

At the annual general meeting on 5 May, Buffett, who was recently diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, said he felt he didn’t need to create a formal report on succession planning because he covered it in his annual shareholder letter and at the AGM.

Earlier this year, the 81-year-old investor said he had chosen who will succeed him as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, but did not reveal the person’s name.

However, his son Howard is likely to take over as non-executive chairman of the Nebraska-based company.